Michelle Yeoh Web Theatre

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The Women's Weekly October 2001
(Malaysian Magazine)

(cover photo)	The world now knows what we felt all along - Michelle Yeoh is a major star. Here, she talks about producing her first movies, and her brave new plans to nurture Asian talent
	COVER STORY TIGER CHARM By Sharmini Rethinasamy

Michelle was born in 1962 in the Chinese year of the tiger and her mum, Datin Janet Yeoh is certain that the tiger in her sign has helped make her daughter a success. Her family home is in Tiger Lane, Ipoh, and her most recent smash hit was the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. "The Tiger is very 'ong' (lucky) for her," beams her proud mother, speaking exclusively to The Malaysian Women's Weekly, from Ipoh.
        Michelle, born Yeoh Chu-Kheng, along with Jackie Chan, Samo Hung and Jet Li, is one of the few Asian stars to make it big in Hong Kong and Hollywood, but Michelle has always been regarded as a "can-do" woman who's dedication and willingness to work through pain and injuries has won her the respect of producers, directors and stunt men.

"I shock myself, too!"
We all held our seats as she rolled off cars and jumped off high buildings in films such as Supercops with Jackie Chan, and the Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies.
        "I shock myself, too!" Michelle laughs. "But because you are very focussed on set, and you run through the whole procedure with your stunt team, and you exercise and train with them, they know what you are capable of.
        "Once you have set your mind, you don't think of the things that can go wrong because you think of how you are going to get it right."
        In Hollywood most actors don't do their own stunts, but Michelle has no stunt double. Instead, she takes the punches herself. Pierce Brosnan was amazed by her stunts and says that watching her in action on Tomorrow Never Dies was, "incredibly sexy".



        "It is a personal thing," says Michelle, whose biggest challenge on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, was not the stunts but the language barrier, as she cannot speak Mandarin. "I take pride in being able to do my own stunts. It's a personal challenge. You know the character is supposed to be doing it and you feel 'cheated' if you don't do it."
        But when her family visits her on set, they can't help but feel tense. "I do worry when I see her prepare for the stunts," says her mother, Datin Janet Yoeh. "But it's heart-stopping when you see it being filmed. So, I'd rather not see it, I just go shopping while she shoots those scenes. Even her father can't bear to see his only daughter get roughed up. He avoids going to her shoots because of that - and the fact that they shoot take after take!"

New challenges
In order to expand her acting horizons, Michelle's started her own production company, Mythical Films. "With a production company, I want to be a teacher," she explains. "Apart from doing films for myself, we are setting up a fund for young directors and scriptwriters. We can see in Asian films that pre-production, script and all of that has been lacking. This is a great chance for me to ask, 'What ideas have you got? What do you think I can do?'
        "With young directors and scriptwriters, they are really creative when they are new. Their passion is high and they are not conformed into thinking, 'This is how it should be.'
        "I really want to maximize on that. Fifteen years ago I was given an opportunity to grow in this industry. I think right now I am in a pretty privileged position where I can give something back to where I started from."

How Michelle stays in shape "Even as a child, I was doing dance. Being very athletic and very physical, in that way, has been very much part of my life," she enthuses. "I incorporate it all into my lifestyle. I might do my high kicks when I am brushing my teeth. If I'm watching TV, I'll be doing leg-ups!         "I have a little trampoline in my office and if I have to watch a DVD of a particular director that we are interested in pursuing for work, then I am bouncing on that, as opposed to sitting on my butt!" she laughs.         Diets are unheard of in this petite star's daily routine. "I don't diet," she says. "Fortunately, I have a great appetite for vegetables and fruit and have never been a big meat eater. I am a great believer of eating well in moderation."

"Fifteen years ago I was given an opportunity to grow in the film industry. I think right now I am in a pretty privileged position where I can give something back to where I started from."

        To prove her words, Michelle is at work on The Touch, Mythical Films' first movie, where she plays the lead role and is also making her debut as a producer.
        She admits she's started producing her own movies partly so that she can expand her roles. "I get offered too many movies where there's only action, and nothing else. But I am always looking for a role with something more meaningful too."
        So The Touch is an English-language romantic thriller about a Chinese acrobatic troupe searching for a stolen mystical artefact.
        Scheduled to begin shooting this month in China and Tibet, it's timed to hit movie screens in summer 2002. Michelle plays the lead role of a trapeze artist. For her love interest in the movie, she had her pick of Hollywood stars - she considered Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackman, but later settled for Ben Chaplin of The Thin Red Line and Birthday Girl.
        Michelle has also asked China's world-famous Chinese Shen Yang Acrobatic Team to take part in the film which will be directed by cinematographer Peter Pau, who won an Oscar for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
        Even as filming starts, Michelle is training with the Shen Yang Acrobatic Team to look realistic for her acrobatic scenes. It's tough-going, but luckily she studied ballet for years at London's prestigious Royal Academy of Dance.
        "It means I have the advantage of being in control of my body," she says. "I am still no acrobatics expert, but there is a sense of acrobatics, stance and fluidity that goes with martial arts moves and stunts.
        "Shooting these kinds of films can be very difficult. But it's really worth it, as the results can be amazing."

Search for a soul mate
While a lot has been said about Michelle's screen success, a lot less has been said about her love life. She was married to billionaire studio head Dickson Poon, of Dickson Watches, but he asked her to retire from show business even though she'd just started to taste fame and success.
        "She couldn't be kept away from what she loved doing," her mother recalls. "So the marriage only lasted three years." However Dickson and Michelle remain friends, and she is close to his current wife and godmother to their daughter.
        Her next long romance was with a noted heart surgeon, and many said Michelle would settle with him near his practice in California. But once again, it was not to be and they parted a couple of years ago.
        "Dr Alan was a nice man but Michelle felt very smothered by his love and constant pressure to marry," explains her mother. "She just wants to concentrate on her career at this time."
        However, new rumours say Michelle and Thomas Chung, the co-owner of Mythical Films, are now romantically involved, though both deny it.
        "She knows what she wants in life and when she is good and ready, she'll make a wise choice," says her mother.
        As for Michelle, when asked about romance, she just smiles. We'll just have to keep watching her movies, as no doubt this enigmatic beauty has even more surprise up her sleeves.

(Photos scanned by Mai Loon of Penang, Malaysia)